121 Beekeeping, Fireworks, Solar Power and Extending Wi-Fi with Will of the Weekend Homestead

Will of the Weekend Homestead returns to the Root Simple podcast to talk about how to get into beekeeping without busting the bank, fireworks, rigging up a simple solar power system and extending your wi-fi. During the podcast we discuss: Inexpensive beekeeping. Fireworks. Will’s small solar system. Will on the Garden Fork Podcast discussing his solar power system along with part recommendations. Kill-a-Watt. Cooking with a Sous Vide machine. Bro...

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054 Digital Design Tools on the Homestead

...ing Architectural Graphics Standards Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) technology John’s Cat Bed 7 (pictured above) Using pen and paper Making physical models Architectural scale and rulers Cinema 4-D Sketchup (a free and simple 3-D tool) Rhino Adobe Illustrator Thingiverse 3-D Printing Low-tech CNC using just a video projector and your computer MoI Moment of Inspiration How to learn good design If you want to leave a question for the Root Sim...

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Making Tofu From Scratch at the Institute of Domestic Technology

...e a month I teach a bread class at the one of a kind Institute of Domestic Technology, founded by our friend Joseph Shuldiner. The IDT is not your usual cooking school and its offerings are difficult to define succinctly. If I had to take a stab at explaining what the IDT does it would be that it teaches things worth doing from scratch that most people haven’t attempted since the pre-Betty Crocker era: cheesemaking, home coffee roasting, bacon cur...

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It Quacks Like a Duck

...of the line was an old comrade of ours, one of the proprietors of Petaluma Urban Homestead, who we know from Mr. Homegrown Revolution’s post grad school sojourn in the dull city of San Diego. In the ten years since we lost contact it turns out that our lives have taken similar paths, including the appreciation of Xtracycles and poultry. Except that the folks at Petaluma Urban Homestead have had the brilliance of exploring the world of ducks in add...

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Is the Urban Homesteading Trend Over?

...ikes that coincide with canning at the end of summer. Unsurprisingly, most homesteading topics revolve around seasons. Seasonality, by the way, is one of things I really like about this movement. A digression here–the flatness of time (see Charles Taylor)–is one of the things I don’t like about modernity. “Home canning” searches “Home canning” searches show a more dramatic decline. “Backyard Chickens” searches People research backyard chickens in...

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